Science in sixth grade explores simple and complex machines, weather, and the diversity and interdependence of life.
By the end of the school year, all students should be able to:
Identify simple machines, including levers, pulleys, wheels and axles, and inclined planes. Understand that complex machines, such as bicycles, use combinations of interacting simple machines.
Understand potential energy (energy that is stored), kinetic energy (energy of motion), and mechanical energy (the combination of potential and kinetic energy that is applied to an object during work).
Understand that all weather is caused by the unequal heating of the earth’s surface. Pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and wind are some of the conditions that cause changes in weather.
Understand extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and droughts.
Understand cell theory: that a cell is the basic unit of structure and function in all living things.
Compare and contrast unicellular and multicellular organisms—that is, those with a single cell and those with many cells.
Understand the factors that affect the population growth of living things. For example, predators, rainfall, and available food supply all help determine the size of a herd of grazing animals.
Understand how changes in the environment, such as global warming, can affect human beings and other living things.
Understand how living things adapt to their environments to survive. For example, many animals change how they use food energy to keep their body temperatures constant.
Use a compound microscope (a microscope that uses more than one lens to magnify objects) to determine the size of an object too small to be seen with the human eye alone.
Learning at Home
Is your neighborhood in the path of high water from coastal storms or hurricanes? Ask your child to check out the map of impact zones at www.oasisnyc.net/OASISNYC_CoastalStormZones.htm.
With your child, visit the American Museum of Natural History’s Ology Web site for kids, amnh.org/ology/earth/stufftodo/weather_main.html, to learn how to make your own family weather station.
Encourage your child to visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Global Warming Web site for kids, epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html for information, games, links, and more.
Talk with your child about how your family can conserve water, energy, and other resources in your home. Ask your child to make a plan your family can follow.
Matter
http://www.biology4kids.com/files/vert_main.html
http://www.factmonster.com/science.html
http://sciencespot.net/Pages/kdzphysics4.html
CA BOCES
Physical Science
Electromagnetism
Liquids
Rocks and Minerals
Rocketry
Solar System
Simple Machines
Life Science
Incubation and Embryology
Ecosystems
Meet the Creatures
Terrariums
Science in sixth grade explores simple and complex machines, weather, and the diversity and interdependence of life.
By the end of the school year, all students should be able to:
Learning at Home
Is your neighborhood in the path of high water from coastal storms or hurricanes? Ask your child to check out the map of impact zones at www.oasisnyc.net/OASISNYC_CoastalStormZones.htm.
With your child, visit the American Museum of Natural History’s Ology Web site for kids, amnh.org/ology/earth/stufftodo/weather_main.html, to learn how to make your own family weather station.
Encourage your child to visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Global Warming Web site for kids, epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html for information, games, links, and more.
Talk with your child about how your family can conserve water, energy, and other resources in your home. Ask your child to make a plan your family can follow.